Itâ€™s perhaps not surprising that The Replacementsâ€™ reunion has been a ramshackle affair, with the band playing three festivals last year, and, at this point, slated to perform sporadically this spring and summer. To hear bassist Tommy Stinson tell it, that may continue for a while: â€œAs long as weâ€™re having fun doing it, I think we fucking do it for as long as we want.â€

Stinson made the comments in an interview with Billboard about how heâ€™s being replaced, albeit temporarily, in Guns Nâ€™ Roses by original GNR bassist Duff McKagan when that band heads to South America this month for dates that conflict with the â€˜Matsâ€™ two appearances at the Coachella festival.

The Replacements so far are slated to follow the Coachella appearances with just three more performances this spring and summer, hitting festivals in Atlanta, Louisville, Ky., and Montreal. Itâ€™s not known whether Stinson and Paul Westerberg have more â€˜Mats shows planned this year.Stinson told Billboard: â€œWeâ€™re going to go out there and have fun and play our fucking show and go from there. Anything at this point could happen. As long as weâ€™re having fun doing it, I think we fucking do it for as long as we want. Thatâ€™s kind of our modus operandi right now â€” go out and have fun and play our songs and make people happy and have a hoot. Iâ€™m just surprised people want it so much; itâ€™s a daunting prospect, but then again nobodyâ€™s really expecting us to be anything better or worse than we were 20 years go, so itâ€™s not really that big of a hurdle to jump over.â€

GNR’s former bassist is filling in on bass for five shows while Stinson tours with The Replacements. “I’m like, ‘Thanks dude, for covering my ass on this one'”

Re-joining Guns N’ Roses for five shows in South America is just Duff McKagan’s way of being “a good buddy” according to current GNR bassist Tommy Stinson.After McKagan tweeted a hint to that effect on Monday, the GNR camp confirmed that the group’s founding bassist will spell Stinson, who was already locked into Replacements reunion dates, starting April 6 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and for the balance of the South American tour, including shows in Asuncion, Paraguay on April 9, La Paz, Bolivia on April 12, Recife, Brazil on April 15 and Fortaleza, Brazil on April 17. GNR opens the tour on Tuesday in Florianapolis, Brazil, and also plays April 3 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, with Stinson, who will be back in the GNR bass saddle on May 13 in Bethlehem, Pa.”I had those Replacement shows come up the same time the South American tour came up, and it got to be a scheduling issue right out of the gate,” Stinson tells Billboard. “I didn’t want to fuck anyone up in Guns by saying, ‘Hey, I can’t do this tour’ or anything like that. Luckily someone was able to reach out to Duff and he was amenable to the idea and was into doing it. It’s Duff being the kind of good sport he is, trying to help Axl Rose out. So I’m like, ‘Thanks dude, for covering my ass on this one.’ I think people are gonna be really stoked about it. It’s gonna be fun for everyone.”